Lt. Colonel Austin Travis (Steven Seagal) has a problem with the demands of terrorist that have taken over a 747 flight bound from Greece to the United States. While the terrorist claim that they want the release of one of their group, intelligence in Washington, D. C. indicates that this possibly isn't what they want. Dr. Grant (Kurt Russell) does his best to convince the government to use a new secret weapon and transfer Lt. Travis and his team to the 747 in midair to defuse the bomb and take the plane back from the terrorist before it is allowed over U. S. soil. Second guessing in a situation simply isn't an option. Will the hostages survive or will America need to cave to the demands of the terrorist?